The Roadhouse Swan
by FoggyDayInSpace
Summary: Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman receive a call about an escaped swan from a man with a very unfortunate name. On their way to help, they find out they have one thing in common.


_My take on what happened between the scenes "P. I. Staker. Right. Piss taker. Come on!" and "Yes, Mr. Staker. We'll do everything we can. Can you describe it to me?"_

 _This is the first fic I've ever written. I hope you enjoy it!_

 **The Roadhouse Swan**

The phone in Nicholas Angel's (or Angle, as he was known as that morning) cubicle rang only once before it was picked up by the sergeant.

" _Morning. The swan's escaped_ ," said a voice on the other side of the line.

"The swan's escaped? Right. And where has the swan escaped from exactly?" Nicholas' tone wasn't showing worry or empathy. He was wondering if this is considered a police-worthy matter in Sandford. While he was on the phone, he looked over the rest of the station, not paying attention to the conversation.

" _The castle."_

Angel decided to play along with this little game, growing more annoyed with each second.

"Oh, yeah? And who might you be?"

" _Mr. Staker. Yeah, Mr. Peter Ian Staker."_

"P. I. Staker. Right. Piss taker. Come on!"

Nicholas slammed the phone and stormed out of his tiny workspace.

"Peter Ian Staker, I can't believe this!"

Danny sat with his back turned. When he heard that Nick had lost his temper over something, which rarely happened, he turned to face the sergeant.

"What's the matter?"

"Apparently, some Peter Ian Staker's swan has escaped."

"Oh, Pete over at the castle! We're famous for our swans, you know," Danny said while eating a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

"Wait," Nicholas stopped in his tracks. "That's a real name? Given to an actual person?"

"Well, he called you, didn't he? That must mean he's real. Unless he's a ghost or something. I don't want to be a policeman turned ghostbuster."

Ignoring his ghost talk, Nick had to admit that Danny had a point. Angel got embarrassed that he almost brushed off a plea for help like that, just because he thought someone might be pulling a prank on him. In London, it happened every couple of days. Sure, it ticked him off then as well, but he'd quickly forget about it. He guessed the chance of it happening here was minimal.

"Who in their right mind names their child like that? They knew his initials would spell P. I. Staker."

Danny was silent and lost.

"Piss taker, Danny! Piss taker!"

He couldn't help but laugh. He didn't know if it was because of Nicholas' reaction to that unfortunate name, or that he heard him swear (if you could even count "piss" to be a swear word).

"Hey," Danny said putting his bowl down and getting up from the desk "at least his name wasn't Wayne Kerr."

He gave Nick a pat on the shoulder and grabbed the keys for one of the police cars, walking off to the corridor.

"Wayne Kerr?" Now it was Nicholas who was lost and thinking out loud, but that sharp mind can't stay down for too long. "Oh, wanker, got it."

* * *

The car ride wasn't silent at all, with Danny asking what movies Angel has seen.

"What about _Rush Hour_?"

"No."

" _Reservoir Dogs_?"

"Haven't seen it."

" _Bloodsport_?"

"Nope."

"Any of _The Terminator_ films?"

"I only know that the first two are really good."

"They are."

Danny sighed and went silent for a moment.

"Anything you've watched? At all?"

" _Roadhouse_ ," Nick said bluntly.

Danny almost lost his grip on the wheel. His face lit up with the biggest smile Nicholas has ever seen on someone. He couldn't help but smile back.

"What's that wide grin about?" playfully asked Nick.

"You've seen _Roadhouse_? With Swayze? Pain don't hurt, that _Roadhouse_?"

"Is there another one?"

"I think they tried to do a sequel recently. Haven't seen it myself though," replied Danny

"Then it's Swayze _Roadhouse_ I've seen."

"When?" Danny asked with a big smile and a lot of cheer. Nicholas hadn't seen him like this. He even thought he was kind of adorable in a way.

"I don't know. I think my uncle had it on VHS. We probably watched it together. I barely remember it, I'm pretty sure I've seen it only once."

Danny shook his head.

"Shame."

"What?" that answer caught Angel off guard, for a second, he thought he said the wrong thing.

"Oh, I meant about the movie. Throughout it they say, "Dalton killed a man by ripping out his throat!" and, well, he did! But doesn't kill the trophy-hunter-bad-guy at the end that way. He goes for it but doesn't. It's such a shame…"

Nicholas could hear the disappointment in Danny's voice. Before he could say anything, they arrived at the castle and Mr. Staker was waiting for them at the front gate.

Danny parked and got out of the car, followed by his partner.

"Hi, Pete!

"Hello, Danny," Mr. Staker said while shaking the constable's hand. "And you must be sergeant Angel."

"I apologize about my behavior when you spoke to me about the matter. I misjudged the situation."

"He's the newest officer here, he'll get used to things," Danny told Mr. Staker, trying to loosen up the situation and making Nick feel a bit more comfortable.

Nicholas took out his notebook and a pen. The two men walked forward, leaving Danny a bit behind.

"Yes, Mr. Staker. We'll do everything we can. Can you describe it to me?"

Danny looked at Nicholas scribbling away in his little notebook. He didn't know how this swan could differ from the rest, but because he was writing it down, it must've been important. He admired Nick, he wanted to be an exceptional police officer like he was. For now, all he could do is to stare and smile, feeling grateful that they worked together.

Nicholas wrote some details down – about two foot tall, long slender neck, kind of orange and black bill. He could catch a glimpse of Danny standing at the gate. He remembered him saying that Staker could've been a ghost. Nick tried to fight a chuckle. Peter was real and was standing in front of him.

Despite doing the best job they could, trying to catch a swan and being side by side, the two officers were thinking about each other. But one main thing stood out for both of them, finally finding out what they had in common – the 1989 Patrick Swayze action-packed movie, Roadhouse.


End file.
